Messages - ckujawa

So a refractometer is accurate at the time of mash and sparge? My O.G. reading is accurate but the further into fermentation the wort goes the inacuracy grows exponetially (due to alcohol in the wort)? Really appreciate all the help everyone has given.

All grain batch (5 gallon) 13.5 lbs of grain 13 lbs of which is two row. I use a refractometer that I calibrated with distilled water but no other calibration or adjustments. Mashed at 154-55 degrees. I appreciate the brutal honesty I will make a larger starter next time. Doesnt the starter just speed up intial "kick off?" After a week the yeast should have done the same thing in the wort as it would in a starter flask??

I have been having a problem with an IPA I have brewed. The first time I brewed the recipe my fermentation stuck at 1.035. I had several other issues with that batch and it wound up getting dumped. I made the recipe again and it turned out perfect. Mash time was right, efficiency was great, target O.G. was almost dead one (.003 off). This time I made some corrections in my fermentation. I bought a Fermtemp pad and maintained a 70-75 degree ferment temp. I bought an "aquarium style" pump and oxygenated the wort for about an hour before pitching. I even made a 2 cup yeast starter 3 days before pitching. Fermentation started a little slow but was steady for a week and after 7 days I went from 1.067 to 1.036. Airlock activity died down and I rechecked at 10 days and 1.035. Shock the carboy a bit to re oxidize and stir up settled yeast and I didn't get much reaction. I am supposed to switch to secondary and dry hop after 10 days but I don't see that creating any more drop in S.G. Any ideas what could be causing this seemingly consistent problem. Last time I removed some slurry from bottom of the fermenter and pitched into a starter and the starter almost immediately exploded into fermentation (almost foamed over the flask within an hour of pitching) so I know that the yeast is alive and healthy. On the last batch I repitched the newly reactivated yeast into wort and nothing happened. Thanks for the help!!!!